Sudbury Transit History

Sudbury's first transit service was a street car service which began operations in 1915 using a single second hand street car. The system eventually encompassed 9.1 miles, with a total of eleven street cars operating a half hour service. By the 1940's, with the advent of motorized bus transportation, street car popularity was on the decline, and by 1950, Sudbury's last street car was taken out of service.

During the '50's and 60's there were four separate bus companies operating various routes within the city limits. Each had their own fare system and passengers were not able to transfer from one bus company to another.

By the early '70's, increasing dissatisfaction with the transit service led to a vote on a municipally owned and operated transit system. At a plebiscite in 1971, Sudburians voted overwhelmingly to approve a municipal system.

The City of Sudbury's transit fleet was set in motion on Monday January 3, 1972, after a brief trial run the day before. By now, Sudbury Transit has provided more than 25 years of service to the community. It has been a period marked by steady progress and improvements ... from the introduction of electronic fare boxes and swipe passes to the acquisition of kneeling and low floor buses. In 1998, the opening of the new transit centre was a fitting culmination to 25 years of service and will undoubtedly be regarded in years to come as a milestone in the development of transit services in Sudbury.

1997 Transit Facts

Number of Employees:

6 full-time and 3 part-time office staff

4 inspectors

63 full-time and 30 part-time bus operators

9 mechanics, 6 full time and 2 casual servicemen

Number of buses:

43

Number of Riders:

On average, 15,000 people per day

A total of 3,414,753 people for the year

Number of Routes:

19 City of Sudbury routes

2 Transfare routes

6 "Sunday & After 10" routes

Number of Kilometres Travelled:

2,653,059.8 service kilometres in 1997

Information from the City of Sudbury, last updated March 2, 2001
Photograph courtesy of Davesrailpix